Two notes on the rumors that Apple and TiVo are working together on the next-gen Apple TV

So there's a random rumor floating around Wall Street today that TiVo and Apple are working in concert on the next-gen Apple TV -- it's gotten enough traction to boost TiVo stock by around seven percent as of this writing. Of course, it's not the first time TiVo / Apple rumors have gotten some traction, but two things make the whispers particularly suspect this go-around:

• TiVo's entire UI is now based on Flash.

• Here is a link to our TiVo Premiere review. Nothing has changed.

Of course, anything's possible -- Apple just bought Lala, which used a Flash-based music player, and TiVo is licensing its software to third parties like Best Buy now -- but it's hard to ignore those two facts and Steve Jobs putting down TiVo's entire business model at D8 by saying "no one wants to buy a box," no matter how much we want to be in love with love. We're thinking Apple's got something rather bigger than just another DVR in mind for the next-gen Apple TV, but we'll see -- heaven knows TiVo needs all the help it can get right now.